


And They Were Roommates...

by Geneviev



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: (because I think that needs a warning), Alternate Universe - No Gods (Percy Jackson), Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Blue Pizza, Getting Together, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Nico Is A Disaster Gay, Pandemics, Pining, Quarantine, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24074707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geneviev/pseuds/Geneviev
Summary: Nico and Percy are roommates.Not friends, not boyfriends, just roommates who don't have the best relationship with each other.But when they have to self-quarantine themselves to avoid getting sick, finally, they have time to change the status quo.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	And They Were Roommates...

**Author's Note:**

> To be honest, first I wasn't sure whether I should post this fic, or not. I don't want to be disrespectful for those who suffer because of this pandemic, but I've seen a lot of stories like this, so, I guess it is "allowed"...  
> I really hope everybody is all right, please, if you can, stay at home, and stay safe!

_“Johnny, what are you doing?” Mr. Genson followed his student out of the building. The boy, who was not dressed for the cold winter, looked to the left, to the right, then looked immediately back to the left, where a van was pulling away. He was behaving frantically and looked like he wanted to run after the car._

_“Mr. Genson, do you have your car with you?” asked the boy. His teacher raised an eyebrow at him but nodded._

_“Yes, but why?” asks the confused man._

_“We don’t have much time to explain. We need to follow the van, quickly!” urged Johnny the adult. Mr. Genson frowned but must have decided to humor the boy, because he beckoned to follow him._

“Nooo, Johnny, don’t go with him! He is the killer!” shouts Percy and throws another piece of popcorn into his mouth. Nico rolls his eyes and prays for help. If his roommate’s investment in the film wasn’t so endearing, it would be freaking annoying. 

Well, not just his investment is endearing.

When Nico saw who his roommate for the first time in college will be, he thought he died and is in haven. He was an 18-year-old disaster gay boy from Venice, Italy, barley out of the closet, and standing in front of him, was a Greek god. Not literally, of course, gods don’t exist, but sawing his roommate, he began to believe.

As Nico stepped into the room, he couldn’t help it - he took a sharp intake of breath. The guy was gorgeous, with his fluffy, black hair, pink lips and the most beautiful sea-green eyes Nico had ever seen. He couldn’t stop himself and scanned the other boy quickly, noticing how his soft, baby blue t-shirt clung to him all the right places, and how good his ripped jeans looked on his long legs.

„Hi, my name is Percy Jackson, I’ll be your roommate. I hope, we’ll be friends!” chirped the boy sunnily. Nico can’t remember, what did he say, or what did he do after that, but it was something pretty bad, because Percy’s smile crumbled, and for a year, the two of them were odds with each other. Every time Nico would say something nice, it would come out sarcastic and wrong, so after a while, he gave up. It was pretty bad for the whole year for the two of them, and also for their respective friends. Especially for Will “Angel-Who-Had-Fallen-To-Earth-To-Help-Baby-Gays” Solace, who, after one look at the ghostly pale boy sitting in the corner of the LGBT+ club’s weekly meeting, decided to adopt Nico. The Italian boy can’t be sure, but he thinks Will he has regretted this deed several times since then, but at least didn’t disown him. Even when he had to hear at least a dozen times a week how beautiful and funny and amazing Percy is, and how utterly disgraceful Nico is when he has to spend some time with him.

Nico wasn’t sure what convinced him to join the LGBT+ club, but sometimes he hated himself for it. It was every week on a Thursday evening, without exception. It was sparkly and bright like a rainbow, full of seven very opinionated people. Most definitely not his crowd of people, the loud Americans, but he promised Bianca, his sister, to get help to be okay with his homosexuality. But, after a couple of weeks, he got used to them and appreciate their personalities. He became close friends with them, unlike with Percy.

The situation with him didn’t change for a while. Not for the lack of trying, but every occasion one of them would say something wrong or slightly hurtful, and when their friends tried to help, it would end up a disaster.

Once, Will decided that he wanted to raise awareness of the club’s existence and he managed to rope Nico into helping him. The school’s offer on extracurricular activities has a pretty wild range, so the clubs’ members distributed among themselves who would visit which club. Or, you know – Will ordered them, but same difference.

Reyna, the fighting queen lesbian, and Piper, the pastel bi got the boxing and the book club respectively, Will, everybody’s gay father, decided to go to his boyfriend’s mechanic group. His significant other, Jake, was not part of the club, but he supported Will about his passion, which is helping others. Octavian, their grumpy cat, or rather, his boyfriend, Luke got the archer club because Luke’s best friend was its leader. Ethan and Alabaster were away because of reasons, and Nico… Nico got the swimming team.

It was fine, he had a plan on how to speak in front of a team of straight jocks. It was not a big deal, no sir. Even if he learned who to defend himself and had muscles, he was still skinny, and the jocks were much bigger than him, but he was sure that they were not homophobic. So, everything should have been fine, if only the star of the swimming team wasn’t Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson in tight, bright blue swim shorts, with his well-defined muscles and most perfect ass in the whole world. Nico’s brain sort circulated by the sight of his roommate. His crush, the one boy, in front of whom Nico could not speak. Or, you know… he could. Just not the right words.

He may have said that they won’t be able to win the swimming competition without a fairy godfather’s magical help, and when he turned away mortified to leave, he fell into the water.

It was a disaster.

Nico wanted to hide – himself and his deed but Luke, hearing what happened, other than dying from laughing, told the hole club. It seemed, he was friends with Percy, though Talia, the archers’ leader, so he heard what had happened from the source: the swimming team. Nico was embarrassed and Will didn’t help him either with his teasing, but thankfully Luke promised, he won’t say anything about Nico’s crush to the swimmer, but he couldn’t hold back his snickers.

So, the year went by, but their relationship didn’t improve. Nico contemplated changing his room, but then he wouldn’t get even this slight chance of being friends, or more like boyfriends with Percy, because without them being roommates, they would not meet any longer. Nico is a history major, creative writing minor university student, while Percy is studying marine biology. No joint classes, no joint friends – except for Luke, but we do not count him.

On the last day, their communication was almost amicable, it almost seemed that not just Nico thought that he will miss Percy, but the other boy, too. He will miss everything from the cute frowning and pouting when he is reading to his whining when he doesn’t want to do something, and especially his sassy comments and adorable rants about everything and nothing.

But they went to their own way and Nico was sure that they won’t meet again.

To his surprise, after his summer spent in Venice, his college room was the same – and his roommate also. Nico tried to convince himself on the lonely, sea-water-smelling nights that he remembers Percy wrong, and the boy can’t be that perfect, that the smell of his home is not the same as the swimmer’s. Well, he was right.

Percy was so much more than he remembered.

He looked like a model, straight out of a magazine – or Nico’s wet dreams. His mischievously sparkling brilliant green eyes, messy black hair, board shoulders, toned arms, long lean legs were so much better in real life. A lovely boy all wrapped in a swimmer’s body. Nico was so wrong when he thought he could forget Percy and move on with his life.

Thankfully, their relationship improved. They were not friends, but neither enemies. They talked to each other about their days, their friends, how they spent their summer. How Nico was forced into going to the gym every other day by his new friend, Jason, during the holiday. Just small talk, but at least friendly talk, not snapping at each other. They lived their separate lives next to each other, and that was it.

Until the quarantine.

For the first week, both were in their separate rooms, but it becomes boring pretty quickly. They couldn’t meet with other people, because the supervisor was strict and nobody could leave their room, only one person per apartment, once a week, for getting the groceries. This led to the current situation, where Nico and Percy decided to watch a movie together. Percy wanted to watch Disney while Nico a horror, so they compromised on a crime film. It was interesting, but the Italian boy wasn’t so invested in the plot, more times than not he caught himself watching the other boy’s reactions. He was so expressive, and so, so, so beautiful.

Nico was not a blushing virgin, he had a boyfriend for a while and had some one-night stands, but he just couldn’t get Percy out of his head and hearth, he measured every guy to him. As long as he knows him, he will be in love with the pretty swimmer. So, he can continue the stutterer, awkward idiot act, or he could do something now, that they are locked in together.

And in the kitchen goes Nico, because as an Italian guy, he knows the best way to win somebody's heart is through pizza. Homemade pizza.

He has the ingredients for it, an Italian always has _farina_ , _olio d’oliva_ and _pomodoro_ , so while Percy is engrossed with the movie, he is kneading the pasta, cooking the tomato sauce, and cutting the mozzarella.

“What are you doing?” A curious Percy appears in the kitchen, who is lured by the delicious smells.

“Pizza. Are you interested?” Asks Nico smirking. He knows very well that his roommate loves pizza, but he never ate a homemade one. Especially not an authentic Italian one, which is now baking in the oven. What is more, Nico has a secret weapon: a blue food dye.

“Of course, I’m interested! But what’s the occasion? You never made one before” Percy is adorable when he doesn’t get something. He tilts his head with sea-green eyes wilder than before and blinks in confusion. He looks so soft in the same baby blue t-shirt in which he was in their first meeting, grey sweatpants, his lovely tousled hair sticking every direction. Nico is so fucking gone with this boy. 

Fortunately, before he could lose himself forever in Percy’s eyes, the smell of the nearly done pizza makes him remember where he is. He answers the question with a noncommittal sound and bends over to open the oven. With his hands covered in oven gloves, he takes out the baking tray and puts down to the kitchen table. He is internally smirking and waits for the reaction. When Percy looks at the baked, steaming pizza, he makes a dying sound and is immediately at the table to inspect closer.

“You made a BLUE pizza!” Shouts excitedly. His eyes are sparkling, his smile lights up the whole room. Of course, Nico made a blue pizza. How could he not, when the boy, who he is in love with, is obsessed with the color blue?

“Well, it’s not like it’s a secret that you love blue food. And I know how hard is it for you to stay in a small place like this for a longer period” says Nico embarrassed.

“Thank you!” Percy’s smile isn’t that wild than before, but his cheeks are getting pinker and pinker, his eyes are so soft and radiating love. Nico is certain that he is dreaming, or that he is hallucinating, so just nods, and turns away to be able to calm the rapid beating of his hearth down. “It smells and looks amazing. You didn’t have to do this, but I appreciate it.”

Nico takes out the plates and hands one to Percy. “It’s my pleasure,” says. It maybe came out with more emotions than he intended to, but Percy’s blush makes it worth it. “I enjoy cooking, but here in America, I had little time to cook. But maybe, if you’d like to, I could make us dinner from now on?” Percy looks like Christmas came early and nods rapidly.

“That would be awesome!” He cuts a slice and forgetting the plate, puts immediately to his mouth. He moans and mortified by his sound; his blush comes back tenfold. But he has to admit, that it is the best pizza he’d ever had in his life.

“So, I take, you like it” laughs Nico softly. He may not have Percy as a boyfriend after this, but at least he knows his roommate appreciates his cooking knowledge. That is something, right?

“Like it?” Percy looks so offended and disbelieving that the Italian’s heart stopped for a moment. “It’s amazing! I’ve never eaten something this delicious before.” 

Nico to hide how the green-eyed boy’s words made him feel take a bite himself. “I’m glad. It may not have enough sauce and the ingredients are different than I used to, but it’s almost like home.” He feels a little bit of homesickness. He is afraid for his family’s well-being. They talk with each other every day to make sure everybody is okay, but it’s not the same. He is in constant fear, but if he went home, he wouldn’t be able to finish this year in the uni, so his _madre_ told him not to worry, just stay where he is. She told him everything will be all right.

He believes her, but it’s hard. The school, the quarantine, the panic, the lack of sleep because of his anxiety… Everything.

Especially because he is living the cliché roommates and quarantine tropes and because of them he is hoping the same ending. Do not ask about it. Will is at fault, let’s stay with that.

“Hey, are you okay?” Percy’s voice pulls him out from his thoughts. He doesn’t know how much time passed, but his half-eaten slice in his hand is now cold. He shakes his head to make the depressing thoughts go away and manages a half-hearted smile.

“Yeah, it’s just my family… and I’m worried about the whole situation” admits Nico. This may begin as a chance to seduce his roommate, but now it turned out pretty depressing for him, so maybe they could talk? Like normal, human people, who can move on small talks and can have a conversation about their feelings and stuff?

“You are from Venice, aren’t you? Is your family okay, or is somebody in the hospital?” Asks Percy worried for his roommate. While Nico is answering, they gravitate towards the couch. Both have a slice in their hand, but it’s easier and comfier to have a serious conversation in the living room.

They talk and talk for hours until the sun’s first signs start to show themselves and their eyelids start to drop. About their lives before university, their family, their traumas. Percy confesses Nico about his previous stepfather, the abuse he had to endure, about how fantastic his mother is. Nico recounts countless childhood stories about his life in a big, Italian family. They talk about their first meeting, the misunderstandings and how they tried and failed to be friends with each other. They bond about shared hobbies and favorites. They laugh and even cry. It’s not the beginning of a romantic relationship, not passionate lovemaking, but a start, nonetheless.

And who knows? Perhaps tomorrow morning Nico will make breakfast for Percy and bring it to the bed. Maybe the grumpy, sleepy Percy will say “Thank you, love”. Maybe they will blush and stammer, but finally find the courage to be more than just roommates, more than just friends.

But that remains to be seen.


End file.
